The recent World Conference on China Studies - Shanghai Forum, which concluded on November 24, was one of the largest gatherings of global "China hands." At the two-day forum, more than 400 Chinese and foreign scholars specializing or interested in China studies discussed their insights on Chinese civilization and China's path of development, as well as their impacts on the current global landscape.

During the forum, some of the overseas scholars, including winners of the 2023 Award for Distinguished Contributions to China Studies, shared their personal China experiences, observations, and understandings of Chinese civilization and China's path with the Global Times.

These "China hands" are witnesses to China's modernization and social development, and play an important role as bridges that link China and the world, observers told the Global Times on Monday.

Witnesses and bridges

The forum announced the winners of the 2023 Award for Distinguished Contributions to China Studies on November 24. They included Timothy Brook, professor emeritus at Department of History, University of British Columbia, Baik Young-seo, professor emeritus at Yonsei University, and Kishore Mahbubani, distinguished fellow at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore.
Brook and Baik participated in the in-person forum in Shanghai. At an interview on November 23, Brook said that Shanghai "makes him jump." "The Shanghai of today is completely different from that of the 1970s," he told the media in fluent Putonghua. "The city reminds me of New York when I look out of my hotel at the Bund."

Shanghai was one of the starting places that sparked Brook's relationship with China. In 1974, then 23-year-old Brook studied ancient Chinese history and literature at Fudan University as one of the earliest young Canadians to come to China as exchange students. At Fudan, he developed a keen interest in China's Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and later started his decades of research in Chinese history, particularly into the Ming Dynasty history.

At the forum venue by the Huangpu River, Brook said although he has visited Shanghai many times over the years, he is quite impressed by the development of China's most modernized metropolis during each visit. "I found that Shanghai has 'grown up' to a degree that I've never seen before," he said, as if describing an old friend.

Brook is hailed as one of the best storytellers among North American historians. His many books focusing on China during the period of the Ming Dynasty, such as The Confusions of Pleasure: Commerce and Culture in Ming China, open a window for international readers to learn more about Chinese history and civilization.

"I keep writing books about China in order to increase the outside world's understanding of China," Brook told the Global Times.

Brook is among the expanding pool of international scholars in China studies who have, in recent decades, personally experienced China's rapid path to development.
Rachel Murphy, who prefers to go by her Chinese name "Rui Xue (auspicious snow in a literal translation)" in China, was a guest speaker at the forum. As a Chinese Development and Society professor at the University of Oxford and former president of the British Association for Chinese Studies, she has been engaged in China-related research, exploring China's social and cultural changes caused by urbanization, educational development, demographic transition, and state policies.

During the last 20 years, Murphy has travelled to many villages, towns, and cities across China. Her long-term fieldwork makes her an old "China hand."

Murphy marveled at China's tremendous development, especially in the countryside. "China's urbanization is progressing very fast," she told the Global Times during the forum. "The book I wrote [about rural China] before is out of date now."

Murphy shared that a week ahead of the forum, she visited several villages in Anhui Provinces, where she had been to a few years before. She was surprised by the great changes in communication in rural China.

Wi-Fi availability is now commonplace in many villages, enabling "left-behind" children to stay in contact with their migrant worker parents through frequent video calls, said Murphy. She was surprised to see many elderly women like to share their rural lives on Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok).

"The speed of technological changes [in China] is truly amazing," Murphy said in Putonghua. "Rural areas included, the ubiquitous nature of 'connection' [across China] is a remarkable achievement."

Among the China studies scholars who attended the forum in Shanghai, Michael Crook, a Chinese Government Friendship Award winner, is a familiar "China hand" to many Chinese people.

Crook's family has been profoundly and closely connected to China. Six generations of his family have worked and lived in China. Born and raised in Beijing, Crook has devoted decades to education in China. Now he teaches children from expatriate families in Beijing Chinese history and culture, acting as a bridge between people in China and the West, especially among the younger generation.

During the forum, Crook told Chinese media that he believes Chinese and Western cultures have their own merits. "They can learn from each other," he said.

A path worthy of reference

Crook was a guest speaker at a sub-forum being held during the Shanghai Forum on November 24. The theme of the sub-forum was "Explorations: Chinese Modernization and China's Path."

Under this theme, many participants of the sub-forum shared their understanding of China's path to modernization, and some highlights of China's path worthy of reference for other countries.

China is a good example of integrating its own development with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNDGs), said economist Ranee Jayamaha, lead consultant for the South Asia-World Bank Group.

She offered how China has launched the Initiative for Belt and Road Partnership on Green Development together with 31 countries, and closely aligned the initiative with the needs of global green development by investing in renewable energy and adopting comprehensive pollution reduction measures as an example.

This is a good story of China's success in positively influencing world development, Jayamaha commented.

Crook mentioned China's ethnic policies, which he thinks can be referenced by multi-ethnic countries.

In a speech he delivered at the sub-forum, Crook recalled his visit to a school in China's Xizang Autonomous Region in May. The school teaches both Putonghua and Tibetan, and entirely permissible for the latter to be spoken in class. The small case shows China respects and supports its ethnic minorities at the national level, said Crook.

With China's rise and its growing international influence, many countries, especially those in the Global South, are interested in Chine's development, and are looking forward to learning from China's experiences, many attendees of the forum told the Global Times.

And these contemporary "China hands" are making efforts to know more about China, exploring China's development path and sharing their observations and understandings with the world.

China is on a multi-dimensional path of development, Josette Altmann-Borbón, secretary general of Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences, said in a speech delivered at the forum's opening ceremony on November 24.

We should fully understand the important role China plays on the global stage, she noted.

Baotou, North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, which holds over 80 percent of the nation's rare-earth reserves, aims to accelerate rare-earth new material industry and application during 2024. 

According to guidelines issued by the municipal government, Baotou aims to expand the rare-earth industrial scale to 100 billion yuan ($14.08 billion) and establish itself as China's largest rare-earth new material base and the world's leading rare-earth application center, media outlet thepaper.cn reported on Thursday.  

Baotou possesses 83.7 percent of China's rare-earth reserves, accounting for 37.8 percent of the global reserves, according to the report.

According to the guidelines, Baotou will increase the production capacity of rare-earth raw materials, consolidating the city’s position as the world's largest supplier. 

It also emphasizes the need to expand Baotou’s rare-earth magnetic materials industry with increased research and development efforts for high-performance magnetic materials. 

The application of rare earths in various industries should be expanded and deepened, including the development of permanent magnet motors for industrial energy efficient motors, wind power generators, electric motors for new energy vehicles, and specialized motors for robots. 

The city will also step up efforts to accelerate the construction of a rare-earth industry intellectual property operation center and a rare-earth product testing center. The goal is to add 150 new rare-earth patents within the year and lead or participate in the development of three national standards and four industry standards, according to the report, citing the guideline. 

The issuance of the guidelines comes as China’s State Council, the country’s cabinet, in October issued a document to develop Baotou into the largest rare-earth new materials base in China and a globally leading rare-earth application base. 

The document proposed strengthening the development and utilization of strategic resources such as rare earths in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. This includes supporting systematic exploration and evaluation, protective development, high-quality utilization, and standardized management of strategic mineral resources in Inner Mongolia.

China has been placing increased importance on the high-quality development of the rare-earth sector.

The State Council stressed at an executive meeting in November that rare earths are strategic mineral resources. It called for enhanced efforts to coordinate the exploration, development, utilization and standardized management of rare earths, to promote the development and application of a new generation of green, efficient mining and related technologies.

Efforts should also be made to crack down on illegal mining and environmental damage, while promoting intelligent and green development of the country's rare earths, according to the meeting.

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) released a draft for soliciting opinions on management of cybersecurity incident reporting on Friday. The draft specifies that the theft of national security information should be recognized as a severe cybersecurity incident, and those who fail to report it as required will be subject to punishment.

According to the CAC, the document is intended to standardize the reporting of cybersecurity incidents and reduce the losses and damage caused by such incidents, so as to safeguard national cybersecurity.

The document clarifies that operators should promptly initiate emergency response plans to deal with network security incidents. Based on the guidelines for the classification of network security incidents, those considered large, severe, or extremely severe incidents should be reported within one hour.

According to the guidelines, if important networks and information systems suffer from particularly severe system losses, resulting in widespread system paralysis and loss of business processing capabilities, it is considered an extremely severe network security incident.

This classification also includes a situation in which state secret information, important sensitive information, and important data is lost or stolen, tampered with or counterfeited, posing a particularly serious threat to national security and social stability.

Other events that pose serious threats to national security, social order, economic development, and public interests are also considered to be extremely severe network security incidents.

Specifically, if provincial-level and above Party and government portal websites or key news websites cannot be accessed for more than 24 hours due to attacks or malfunctions, or if the overall operation of critical information infrastructure is interrupted for more than six hours or the main functions are interrupted for more than 24 hours, it can generally be identified as an extremely severe cybersecurity incident.

If the event affects the work and lives of more than 30 percent of the population in a single provincial-level administrative region, or affects the use of water, electricity, gas, oil, heating, or transportation of more than 10 million people, it also falls into this category.

Additionally, the guidelines specify that if the incident leads to the leakage of personal information of more than 100 million people or causes direct economic losses of more than 100 million yuan ($14 million), it will also be considered an extremely severe cybersecurity incident.

The draft for comment of the document shows that the governance of network security in China has entered an important stage of high-quality development, Qin An, deputy director of the expert committee of counter-terrorism and cyber security governance at the China Society of Police Law, told the Global Times on Friday.

Qin noted that the classification of network security incidents by severity level is a highlight of the document, as it allows for the categorization of incidents based on their urgency and importance. "The classification resolves some of the confusion that may arise during actual implementation," he said.

According to the CAC, if the operator delays reporting, falsely reports, or conceals a cybersecurity incident, resulting in significant harmful consequences, the operator and relevant responsible individuals shall be severely punished according to the law.

"The implementation of relevant punitive measures is crucial to ensure the effective enforcement of laws and to safeguard national security," the expert said.

According to the CAC, when encountering a cybersecurity incident, an operator should report the name of the unit where the incident happens and basic information about the facilities, systems, and platforms involved, as well as the time, location, type of event, and the impact and harm caused.

Additionally, the document states that the report should include the measures that have been taken and their effectiveness, the development trend of the situation, potential further impact and harm, and preliminary analysis of the causes of the incident.

The alarming conclusion has been drawn from the first-ever IUCN red list assessment of freshwater species, which identifies global heating, pollution, overfishing, and falling water levels as major threats to vital aquatic populations.

A comprehensive study by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) highlights the precarious state of freshwater fish globally, with iconic species such as the Lake Turkana robber and the Mekong giant catfish facing the imminent risk of disappearing.

Of the 14,898 assessed species, a staggering 3,086 are now in danger of vanishing, with nearly one-fifth of all threatened freshwater species directly impacted by climate change-induced factors such as falling water levels and shifting seasons.

The assessment also sheds light on the escalating threats to other species, including mahogany, Atlantic salmon, and green turtles. Big leaf mahogany, a highly sought-after plant commercially, is now classified as endangered due to a 60% decline in numbers over the past 180 years.

Atlantic salmon, once abundant and considered of least concern, is now near threatened, with a 23% global population decline and disappearance from many UK rivers.

Amidst these alarming findings, the report also brings attention to positive conservation efforts. The saiga antelope, moving from critically endangered to near threatened, experienced a remarkable 1,100% population increase in just seven years in Kazakhstan. Similarly, the scimitar-horned oryx, once extinct in Chad due to overhunting, has seen successful reintroduction efforts, leading to a vulnerable classification.

IUCN President Razan Al Mubarak has emphasized the need for coordinated global conservation efforts in the face of the interconnected climate and biodiversity crises.

The report underscored the importance of addressing these issues to ensure the durability of conservation actions.

The assessment also highlights the vulnerability of central south Pacific and east Pacific green turtles, major victims of industrial and artisanal fishing, with rising global temperatures affecting their hatching success and sea temperature fluctuations endangering their nesting sites.

Since 2017, the permanent population of Beijing has been declining for six consecutive years, and the distribution of the population shows a pattern of multiple support points and gradient distribution, while the health and cultural quality of the population ranking among the top in the country, according to the Beijing Administration Institute (BAI) on Saturday.

On Saturday, the "Beijing Population Blue Book: Research Report on Beijing Population Development (2023)" was released by the BAI, analyzing and forecasting Beijing's population trends. It focuses on the population development of Beijing from various perspectives such as preschool education, youth population, childbearing age population, elderly population and the population living in the capital's metropolitan area, in addition to conducting in-depth research on coping with an ageing population.

The permanent population of the capital city was 21.843 million in 2022, with a registered population of 14.277 million, maintaining a steady decline in the size of the permanent population and a continued growth in the registered population.

In addition, in 2022, the birth rate for the city's permanent population continued to decline, and the natural growth rate of the permanent population revealed a negative value synchronized with the national level. In terms of population structure, the aging of the population has become more pronounced, while the proportion of the working-age population is still higher than the national average.

In 2022, the city's permanent population aged 60 and above was 4.651 million, accounting for 21.3 percent of the total population, which is 1.5 percentage points higher than the national average. The size of the working-age population aged 15 to 64 has been continuously declining from 2015, reaching 15.902 million in 2022, accounting for 72.8 percent of the total population, also higher than the national average.

In terms of population distribution, the report noted that the regional distribution of the population in the city has remained stable, showing a pattern of multiple support points and gradient distribution. Both the population size and proportion in downtown areas have declined, while the population size and proportion in the urban sub-center and the plain new city have increased. The number of residents living in the city's designated ecological conservation area has fluctuated, and the pattern of population distribution with multiple support points continues to form, which has helped Beijing achieve balanced development in multiple areas.

The report also points out that the health level and cultural quality of the population in this city are among the best in the country. In 2021, the average life expectancy of registered residents stood at 82.47 years, higher than the national average. In 2020, the average years of education for the permanent population aged 15 and above was 12.64 years, far exceeding the national average. In 2022, there were 56,181 people with a college degree or above per 100,000 permanent residents aged 15 and above in Beijing.

The stable size of high-quality labor force has laid a solid foundation for Beijing to build an international science and technology innovation center and high-level talent hub, and promote the deep integration of innovation chain, industry chain, capital chain and talent chain, it noted.

It also added that the city is still in an opportunity window for economic transformation and upgrading, which will not close in the short term. The document recommended greater focus on achieving a balanced population structure, leveraging the dividends of reform and talent, and releasing the dividends of population. In addition, the report also suggests that the city should make good use of the opportunities brought by the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region and enhance the vitality of Beijing's population development in building an integrated high-quality development demonstration zone.

The highly watched trial of the anti-China and violence-inciting figure Jimmy Lai on national security charges is set to begin on Monday at West Kowloon Court, toward which some Western media and political figures have launched a public opinion campaign by badmouthing the city's rule of law and the National Security Law (NSL) for Hong Kong. Legal experts said begging external forces to support Lai and undermining the rule of law in Hong Kong are destined to be futile.

These instigations of the Western media, politicians and organizations openly calling for the release of Lai and criticizing the rule of law in Hong Kong are extremely dangerous and irresponsible, some experts said. While some Western politicians and media hail Lai as "an anti-government hero" and "a pro-democracy fighter," such campaign of smearing Hong Kong will also allow local residents to see clearly the true nature of Lai as a proxy for Western interests, they noted.

The Hong Kong Police Force has strengthened their presence near the courthouse, as police officers were seen moving sandbags, tents and other materials from their vehicles to the vicinity of the court, using barricades to separate the queue area for court reporters, and surrounding the exterior of the court with traffic cones, according to local media reports.

The three judges overseeing Lai's trial are Madam Justices Esther Toh Lye-ping and Susana D'Almada Remedios, and Mr Justice Alex Lee Wan-tang, according to Hong Kong media.

Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung was quoted as saying in the reports that those who enter the court on Monday will be subject to X-ray inspection. The police will enhance patrols around the court and its vicinity, deploying explosive detection dogs to assist in searches.

He also mentioned that in past trials of similar cases, the so-called "court watchers" have harassed prosecution staff, created disturbances with loud noises, and provoked judicial personnel. To address behaviors that may affect the trial, the police have coordinated with the judicial institutions to conduct X-ray inspections on visitors to the court, including defendants, observers, and lawyers. Tang warned that anyone attempting to disrupt the trial or intimidate those involved in the judicial process would be met with decisive law enforcement action.

In the case of Lai, there are four defendants, including Lai himself and three companies related to secessionist Apple Daily. They face four charges, including alleged collusion with foreign forces in violation of the NSL for Hong Kong, and conspiracy to publish seditious publications under the Crimes Ordinance.

The charges related to the NSL for Hong Kong carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, while the sedition-related charges have a maximum penalty of two years' imprisonment.

Before the trial begins, some figures, including Lai's son, have been "making noises" to put certain pressure on the trial. For example, Lai's son, Sebastien Lai, met with UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron recently, and the latter said the UK opposes the NSL for Hong Kong and will continue to stand by Jimmy Lai and the people of Hong Kong.

A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said, "Jimmy Lai's case is a priority for the UK," which has raised his case on multiple occasions with the Chinese government, most recently when Cameron spoke to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the Guardian reported on Sunday.

A representative from the infamous Human Rights Watch also hyped that Beijing seems intent on imprisoning one of its most powerful critics for many years, referring to Lai, possibly for the rest of his life, according to the media report.

Sebastien Lai stated that Jimmy Lai became a British citizen as early as 1994, and he himself is also a British citizen, urging the UK government to pressure the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government to release Jimmy Lai. But are British citizens immune to legal consequences? The rule of law demands that before the law, everyone is equal, and anyone who breaks the law must face the appropriate legal sanctions. Jimmy Lai does not have any privilege that allows him to be above the law, Willy Fu Kin-chi, director of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies and vice-president of the Hong Kong Basic Law Education Association, told the Global Times on Sunday.

"The British officials' blatant intervention in Jimmy Lai's case, which has entered the judicial process, attests to their support for the anti-China instigators, further exposing Jimmy Lai's collusion with foreign forces," Fu said, noting that it also further proves that the HKSAR government's prosecution of Jimmy Lai is entirely lawful, reasonable and legitimate.

The NSL for Hong Kong stipulates very strict legal procedures in terms of legislation, law enforcement, and judicial processes, Louis Chen, a member of the Election Committee and general secretary of the Hong Kong Legal Exchange Foundation, told the Global Times on Sunday.

The provisions specifying designated judges and the absence of a jury are stipulations of the law itself and differ significantly from irresponsible Western criticisms that describe the process as a "formality" or "pre-determined," he noted.

"Previous sanctions against trial judges are essentially interference in judicial processes. However, we believe that the trial of Jimmy Lai will become a classic case in upholding national security in Hong Kong, fully reflecting the independence of the Hong Kong judiciary, the spirit of the rule of law, and the professional integrity of Hong Kong judges," Chen said.

Editor's Note:

With the onset of the cold winter weather, the "warm economy" in Yiwu is thriving. There has been a significant rise in demand for winter products from both domestic and international buyers, resulting in a surge of orders for gloves, hats, scarves, and other winter accessories. Photos: Li Hao/GT

China’s elite diving athletes Wang Zongyuan and Chen Yuxi have secured spots for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after winning gold at the national diving championship on Wednesday in Wuhan, Central China’s Hubei Province.

Over 200 divers are competing at the annual event that will last till Tuesday. An analyst told the Global Times on Thursday that the championship, which serves as one of the three-leg qualifiers for the Paris Olympic Games, will help the national team to find some new diamonds in the rough.

China’s new diving talisman, 20-year-old Wang, ranked first in each of the six rounds in the final to triumph during the 3-meter springboard while two-time Olympic medalist Chen edged out Olympic champion Quan Hongchan to win gold during the 10-meter platform.

According to the point-based qualification for the Paris Olympic Games diving events announced by the Chinese Swimming Association, there are three legs of qualifiers, namely the national diving tournament in March, the ongoing national diving championship and the World Aquatics Championships to be held in Doha, Qatar in February 2024. 

The two best rankings out of the three legs of a diver are translated into points. The top four athletes with the most points in a single event will be selected into the Olympic roster.

Wang and Chen, who also won gold at the national tournament in March, have thus secured their berths for the Olympic Games.

“The victory shows that my training and hard work have paid off. I take every competition seriously, and hopefully I can do my best in every competition. However, I was not at my best during the preliminaries and made some mistakes,” said Chen, who lost to Quan in October’s Hangzhou Asian Games. 

“While the top divers are vying for spots for the Olympics, the national event also provides an opportunity for younger talents to make their mark. Jiang Linjing is a big surprise in the highly competitive 10-meter platform,” Liu Yu, a Beijing-based sports commentator, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Jiang Linjing, a 13-year-old diver from South China’s Guangdong Province, managed to finish third behind Olympic champions Chen and Quan.  

“They [Chen and Quan] are my idols. They were consistent in their dives and rarely make mistakes. I’m doing okay in training, but I tend to get nervous in big events,” said Jiang, who tried the 307C dive, one of the most difficult dives, for the first time in the competition. 

Eyes will be focused on the men’s 10-meter platform final on Saturday as this is the only event in which China failed to win gold at July’s World Aquatics Championship in Fukuoka, Japan. 

China swept 11 out of 12 golds on offer at the world championship and Australia’s Cassiel Rousseau upset China’s Lian Junjie and Yang Hao in a roller-coaster 10-meter platform final. 

Women’s 3-meter springboard will also take place on Saturday. 

In order to inspire athletes to innovate and take on challenging dives, the event has introduced special awards recognizing both the difficulty and groundbreaking achievements.

Chinese speed skaters made some breakthroughs at the speed skating World Cup in Beijing over the weekend, as they totaled two silver and four bronze medals in the three-day competition.

Ning Zhongyan has become the marquee name for the Chinese speed skating team this year as he bagged one silver and two bronze medals in all three races he participated in. Female skater Han Mei is also a big contributor as she claimed one silver and one bronze medals. 

The National Speed Skating Oval, replaced its ice for the first time after hosting the Winter Olympics last year, has been dubbed the "fastest ice" as it witnessed the breaking of 10 Olympic records last year. 

"I was a bit nervous when competing at the Olympics here last year, but now I am just enjoying the race," Ning told reporters. "I think I didn't fail to live up to the fans' expectations, but I do hope I can change the color of my medal at the next World Cup event."

In the women's race, Han's result in the 1,500 meters of 1:55.92 was just 0.4 seconds short of Japanese veteran Miho Takagi, who bagged three individual medals at the Beijing 2022 Olympics. Han's teammate Li Qishi finished third.

"Different from competing at the Olympics, now we have fans cheering for us, which is a booster for me," Han told reporters, noting she has set herself the goal of stepping onto the podium at the Milan 2026 Olympics.

The last time a Chinese female skater entered the top three in the 1,500 meters event was during the 1999-2000 season, when Song Li achieved third place in the Netherlands. 

Li Yan, head coach of the national speed skating team, said though the team is preparing for its ultimate goal of the Milan 2026 Winter Olympics, participating in the World Cup events has made the goal "clearer."

"Every four years we are preparing for one thing (the Winter Olympics), but this year our goals are clearer, which is to improve our results and rankings," she told reporters. 

"Every athlete, regardless of their current level, is finding their shortcomings and areas to improve. More importantly, we are consolidating the spirit of the entire team, using the team's strength to achieve breakthroughs and support each other."

Compared to speed skating's brother, the discipline short track, which has become a popular event thanks to China's medal haul in the discipline, the oval races are relatively less influential, as it totaled only two gold medals in China's seven entries into Winter Olympics. 

While in recent years China has seen success in shorter distance speed skating, particularly with Zhang Hong and Gao Tingyu winning gold in the 500 meters events at the Sochi 2014 and Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, respectively, the country has struggled in mid-to-long-distance events, which makes breakthroughs like those of Ning and Han more significant.

Despite not participating in the previous season and lacking World Cup ranking points, Gao, who recently returned, finished just a place short for a podium finish in Beijing. But coach Li expressed satisfaction with his recovery. 

"Gao's smooth return is the first step. The fans have high expectations for him, but after all, he hasn't participated in formal competitions for over 20 months," Li told reporters. 

"Being able to move to the top group is a stable first step, and he just needs to do his best."